2 weeks ago
Mizzou wrapped up its regular play successful Austin, wherever No. 6 Texas took each 3 games and sent nan Tigers into Hoover astatine 6–24 successful SEC play. Across nan weekend, nan Tigers had innings wherever things clicked, followed by stretches wherever Texas’ lineup and pitching created a clear dichotomy betwixt nan 2 teams. Nothing astir nan bid was particularly palatable, though Mizzou did capable successful spots to support nan games from drifting into afloat blowouts.
The opener started astir arsenic good arsenic Mizzou could ask. On nan first transportation of nan night, Jase Woita turned connected a fastball and sent it retired to near for his 12th location tally of nan season. Josh McDevitt handled nan first 3 innings, giving up 1 tally and moving astir postulation pinch 3 strikeouts.
A multitude of walks shortened McDevitt’s starting quality and Tigers coach Kerrick Jackson admitted nan righty “didn’t person his champion stuff,” connected nan Tiger power post-game show.
Texas evened nan people successful nan 3rd connected a sacrifice fly, past moved up successful nan 5th pinch another. The sixth inning shifted nan night. Casey Borba, who has been connected a tear, drilled a two‑run homer to left. A two‑out RBI azygous from Anthony Pack Jr. pushed nan lead to 5–1.
Mizzou answered successful nan eighth. Jamal George doubled into nan gap, Woita followed pinch different extra‑base deed to bring him in, and Mateo Serna punched a azygous done nan near broadside to make it 5–3. Texas instantly restored nan separator pinch a agelong location tally from Carson Tinney successful nan bottommost half.
The existent communicative of nan nighttime was Texas left‑hander Dylan Volantis, who delivered thing adjacent to a virtuoso performance: 11 strikeouts crossed 7 innings, retiring 21 of nan last 24 hitters he faced. Once he settled in, nan onslaught area belonged to him, and Mizzou’s early spark faded into scattered baserunners.
Friday belonged to Texas catcher Carson Tinney. He played for illustration a shape‑shifter each play — sometimes a powerfulness bat, sometimes a table‑setter. This crippled leaned heavy toward nan erstwhile starting successful nan the 3rd inning successful which he won a 13‑pitch at‑bat and sent a two‑run homer nan other way. One inning later, he launched a 456‑foot expansive slam to straightaway center, becoming only nan 5th Longhorn to scope 20 location runs successful a season.
Texas built a 10–0 lead done 4 innings, pinch further location runs from Borba and Pack Jr. Luke Harrison kept Mizzou disconnected nan committee done six earlier moving into problem successful nan seventh.
The seventh inning was Mizzou’s clip to rally back. George singled, Peer was deed by a pitch, and Patterson singled to load nan bases. Pierre Seals drew a locomotion to bring location nan first run. Woita followed pinch a bases-clearing double, giving him 50 RBI connected nan season. Ward added an RBI groundout, and a chaotic transportation brought location different tally to make it 10–6.
Texas added a tally successful nan bottommost half and kept nan Tigers bats disconnected nan scoreboard nan remainder of nan game. Missouri struck retired 4 clip mixed successful nan eighth and nan ninth against Brody Walls and Sam Cozart.
The finale had a much back‑and‑forth consciousness to it. Blaize Ward opened nan crippled pinch a solo location run, and Pierre Seals added different successful nan 3rd to necktie things up astatine 2–2.
Texas responded successful nan 4th pinch a six‑run inning that changed nan reside of nan afternoon. The Longhorns successful full sent 11 batters to nan plate, collecting 5 hits and getting RBI from Pack Jr., Tinney, Rodriguez, Becerra, and Livingston. Mizzou’s bullpen steadied things for a stretch, arsenic Skidmore, Salas, and Lohse mixed for 3 scoreless innings, giving nan Tigers a small spot of breathing room to climb backmost into nan game.
The eighth inning brought retired nan rally bats for Missouri. Serna doubled location 2 runs, Tyler Macon delivered a pinch‑hit RBI single, and Patterson added a two‑run double to propulsion Mizzou wrong 8–7 and a chance to sound disconnected a top-10 team.
Texas answered pinch 4 runs successful nan bottommost half, restoring nan margin. Woita didn’t fto nan Tigers spell down softly pinch a double successful nan ninth, though nan Tigers couldn’t bring him astir arsenic Texas closed retired nan expanse and reached 40 regular‑season wins for nan 2nd consecutive year, successful different pursuit for a agelong long to Omaha.
Woita had 1 of his amended weekends of nan season. A leadoff homer Thursday, a three‑run double Friday, and different extra‑base deed Saturday gave Mizzou dependable accumulation successful nan mediate of nan order. Ward continues to look nan portion successful his beardown agelong to information retired nan play arsenic he reached guidelines aggregate times against UT, and vanished SEC regular play play hitting .323.
Serna and Patterson besides had beardown days successful nan finale, combining for 4 hits and 5 RBI. Their eighth‑inning swings kept nan crippled from turning masochistic successful a hurry. Ultimately nan Longhorns’ powerfulness bats shaped nan scope of nan full weekend, homering successful each crippled and producing 3 abstracted six‑run innings. Any clip Mizzou created momentum, Texas recovered a measurement to return it back.
Up next, nan Tigers’ play will beryllium connected nan statement successful Hoover, Alabama for its first information matchup against No. 17 Ole Miss astatine 9:30 a.m. CT Tuesday. Former Tiger LHP Will Libbert will await them connected nan mound, Josh McDevitt, who’s been nan stone for nan pitching unit passim nan play will beryllium nan starter for nan Tigers.
